Two 12th Century Kings in one bed, oh my...

There's an article in The Guardian about the relationship between Richard I of England and Philip Augustus of France, and why they used to sleep together. It quotes my teacher (mentor, hero, personal inspiration) John Gillingham, who is still describing it pretty much the way he did when I was studying with him and he was writing his first biography of Richard.

I used to discuss this with Gillingham; his contention is that Richard and Philip were not lovers. I was more convinced he was right in the 1970s than I am now. Which is not to say I have any definitive evidence about Richard's sexuality that anyone else doesn't have, or Philip's either. It's more that I am less convinced now than I was then that 'straight' is a default setting for human beings of any station or in any century.

I am also... swayed in my judgement, fannishly speaking, on who I picture as playing Richard. Philip is no problem - he's in my head as Timothy Dalton or Jonathan Rhys Meyers, depending which movie you're thinking of, and gorgeous in either case. But neither filmed version of The Lion in Winter had a Richard that I particularly enjoyed or found sexy - no, it wasn't one of Anthony Hopkins' better roles, in my opinion - and I think fondly of the Ottawa Little Theatre production with Lawrence Aronovich as Richard and Alex Contreras as Philip. They were good. But the sexiest role in that production, surprisingly, was Jean-Claude Lizé as John.

Yeah... I like the James Goldman version.

I'd Do Anything...

I watched the first episode of I'd Do Anything last night. It's the show where Andrew Lloyd Webber casts Nancy and Oliver for a West End production of Oliver!.

We all know I am watching it because John Barrowman is one of the judges, casting directors, and teachers. And he was wonderful. Because there are fewer judges than there were in Any Dream Will Do, he gets more chance to talk, gets more individual time onscreen. Best moment so far was when Denise Van Outen said to him in exasperation, "You had to show your butt!" Yup, it's John, of course he did. And it's such fun to see his binges of laughter, when he likes something. No one laughs like that man does. (Please, sir, may we see Captain Jack Harkness laugh more?)

But really... even if Barrowman wasn't on the show, could I resist it? A show about musical theatre? It sort of ... hones in on my guilty pleasures. Or it would, if I felt guilty, which I don't.

The first episode was fairly diverse, because it shows Webber and Cameron Mackintosh sifting through thousands of people in the first wave of actresses and actors - there's more focus on the women than the boys. Already I have three or four favourite contenders as Nancy, which will probably be narrowed down still more next episode. The boys seemed less differentiated, but that will come. It's interesting that Andrew Lloyd Webber is looking for both a Nancy and an Oliver who are more tough-and-feisty than we're used to. Okay.

This should be fun.

Doctor Who: Repicturing the Doctor...

I thought these portraits of the Tenth Doctor by wondrousstrange were delighted - and very funny.

I'd love to see the same done with Captain Jack!

Torchwood: what it's all about...

Is this the day for clever and funny fanart, or what?

lazenich has a one-panel summary of Torchwood series 1 that floored me. You'll find it here.

FIC: Torchwood (drabble) - Where Darkness Hides

Title: Where Darkness Hides
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Adam, the Torchwood team
Challenge: tw100, challenge: fears
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, no claims, all property of the BBC.
Notes: Cross-posted to my LJ and to tw100. Spoilers for "Adam", with references to "Everything Changes", "Greeks Bearing Gifts" and "Cyberwoman".

( Where Darkness Hides )

Torchwood: Adrift reaction...

Just saw it, no time to comment tonight.

Loved it. Gwen was beautiful. Jack was as he should be. And Ianto... well.